Reading Borough Council is expected to approve more than £12m in spending to add and extend bus lanes in the town centre, Get Reading reported.
The work will form part of phases three and four of the South Reading Mass Rapid Transit and was due to be signed off by the Policy Committee on Monday, January 15 at 1830hrs – after CBW went to press.
Should the spending get the go-ahead, outbound bus lanes will be added on London Street, the Bridge Street bus lane will be extended and lights on the Oracle Roundabout will be upgraded between June and November, 2018.
Phase four, which is planned for February to November 2019, will see an outbound bus lane on the A33 approach to Rose Kiln Lane, another bus lane between Longwater Avenue and Island Road and an upgrade of the traffic lights on Bennet Road. Both sets of lights will be upgraded to a MOVA system, which can adjust its timings depending on how busy the road is.
Reading Borough Council’s report said the work would not reduce the existing capacity of the A33, as new lanes will be added for buses rather than taken from the existing road.
Of the funding, £10.5m comes from the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Growth Deal.
The council will put forward £2.45m, with £380,000 coming from developer contributions, £450,000 from the authority’s local transport plan and £162,000 from borrowing.
